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Student discusses 1966 NBC documentary, new film on civil rights story

Posted: Jul 19, 2012 | 9 min 32 sec

Yvette Johnson is an ASU student whose grandfather, Booker Wright, appeared in a 1966 NBC documentary about racism in Greenwood, Miss. Wright's candid interview exploded the myth of who he was and his experience as a waiter in a whites-only restaurant during the civil rights era.

Johnson talks about how Wright's experience became the basis of a full-length documentary decades later.

Johnson's research project at ASU led to a "Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story," a documentary she co-produced with Raymond D. Felitta, and a full "Dateline NBC" broadcast, which aired July 15.